Queer

“Unconventional found family featuring parents with shady jobs” is a genre that seems to have taken the anime world by storm in the past couple of years. The most popular example of this is Spy X Family, featuring a spy father, assassin mother, and telepath daughter, who don’t know each other’s secret identities and end up a family out of convenience. But this 2023 spring season has given us another top-notch anime that fits into the genre: Buddy Daddies. The show tells the story of Kazuki Kurusu and Rei Suwa, two hitmen who are partners and best friends, and how they ended up the fathers of a young girl named Miri. Though none of them are related, the three swiftly become a family.

With its outlandish characters, satirical plot, and unapologetic queerness, The Rocky Horror Picture Show became a cult classic after its release in 1975. The musical film, which isn’t as scary as it is campy, was created as a spoof of B-horror movies that usually feature far-fetched plots, mediocre acting, and low budgets. The film stars Tim Curry in his breakout role as Frank N. Furter, a cross-dressing mad scientist who lives in a Victorian Gothic-style castle. The plot itself is reminiscent of Frankenstein; Frank N. Furter succeeds in creating a sentient yet incredibly airheaded man named Rocky, who is used mostly as a boy toy. However, the film’s inciting incident occurs when newly engaged Brad and Janet get a flat tire and stumble upon Frank N. Furter’s castle. Here, they are acquainted with the goofy characters inside and witness Rocky’s creation. Brad and Janet represent everything that Frank N. Furter does not: repression, chastity, and social conformity. As the plot progresses, Brad and Janet succumb to their deepest desires and give into the flagrant lifestyle of the castle’s residents.